Friday, July 21, 2006

Good soil

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop--a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear..."

"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown" (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23)

Christians have always wondered why some people accept Jesus while others reject Him. In this Bible passage, Jesus tells us why this is so. But the message that Jesus has for us is much more personal than it appears at first reading. Through this parable Jesus issues each of us a word of caution.

In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus compares the spreading of the Gospel to the planting of a field. We are not told who the sower is, but it is his job to bring the Gospel to people in the world. The sower could represent Jesus Himself, he could represent the pastors and missionaries who are sent out by Jesus, or he could represent anyone who speaks of his faith in Jesus with another person. The seed is the Gospel, the ‘message about the kingdom’ of God. And the four different areas of the field represent the four different kinds of situations the Gospel faces when it enters a person’s life.

Jesus’ first example is the person who hears the Word of God but does not understand it, giving the Devil the opportunity to snatch the seed away. The Devil is a real supernatural being, and he is actively opposed to God. Just as God takes a personal interest in loving each of us, the Devil takes a personal interest in keeping each of us cut off from God’s love. From birth, our human nature finds it impossible to believe in a God who is perfect, holy and loving, because our lives tell us that nothing is perfect, nothing is sacred. Everyone we know loves us imperfectly, if they love us at all—in fact, most people don’t care about us, unless they can use us somehow. All we know from birth is our own imperfection and the imperfection of everyone around us—we quickly learn that no one can be completely trusted, not even ourselves. Born with this attitude, we cannot have any kind of relationship with God, because God expects us to completely trust in His loving care for us. This suits the Devil just fine, because anyone who dies without trust in God will forever join the Devil in hell. It is said that misery loves company, and the Devil wants to share the misery of his hell with as many people as he can lure there.

God, on the other hand, is all about perfect love. God creates every baby, and He creates every baby with the intent that they should all join Him in heaven forever. But because the Devil successfully tainted mankind with imperfection, God had to take extraordinary steps to offer every person the opportunity to escape eternity in hell. God sent His Son Jesus to suffer hell on the cross in mankind’s place, and to make it possible for us to trust in God’s caring love. When we hear Jesus’ message of forgiveness and the promise of a new way of life that leads to heaven, we are given the opportunity to repent of our mistrust and be welcomed into fellowship with God.

That message of forgiveness and a new start is the seed that the Devil desires to snatch away from us. He tries to keep people from even hearing the message by prompting courts to outlaw God’s name in schools and in the Pledge of Allegiance. The Devil makes sure that every act of misconduct by a clergyman is well publicized, in order to cause people to mistrust the church. And the Devil lies in wait with his lies for any opportunity to cast doubt in the hearer’s heart. When a person hears the untainted Gospel, the Devil challenges everything he’s heard. God loves you? Not likely—you are too weak and useless for God to love you. Jesus forgives you? Impossible—some of the things you’ve said and done are unforgivable. God cares for you? If He cared for you, He wouldn’t have let you suffer the way you have. God is in charge of the universe? Look around you at the condition of this wretched world—there’s no one in charge. There’s no one to care for you, to protect you, to save you. It’s all a big lie to get you to put money in the church collection plate.

Jesus came to give us love and freedom from eternal death; all we need do is repent our sins and trust in Him. But it is not in our nature to trust in the goodness of others, so many people listen to Jesus’ words without understanding them. It is at this time of hesitancy that the Devil whispers his lies and convinces his victim that faith in Jesus is foolishness. The person turns away from the promises of God given through Jesus, and the Devil has effectively snatched the Gospel invitation away. Paul wrote, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18).

There are others, though, who do listen to Jesus’ words and are overjoyed to hear them. When the Devil fails to snatch the Gospel seed away, he then relies on one of his allies—our own corrupted human nature. Our bodies are filled with desires. At a most basic level, our bodies desire to stay alive. Our bodies also desire to avoid pain and discomfort. Our bodies crave food and drink, and they urge us to seek out sex. Our bodies also enjoy being stimulated by nicotine, alcohol, and other drugs.

It is natural for our bodies to desire comfort, but they can become enemies of leading a Christian life. In the days of the Apostles, many Christians were threatened with death unless they denied their faith in Jesus. There were Christians who feared death more than they feared God, and gave up their faith to preserve their lives. But we also face betrayals of the flesh today. God wants us to trust His loving care for us, but there are Christians whose faith falters when they face serious illness. When God doesn’t grant immediate relief, they jump to the conclusion that God, if He really exists, doesn’t care about them. Other people expect God to make their lives wonderful, full of peace and wealth and comfort. When their lives do not improve in worldly ways, when tough times come and bring depression, these people start shopping for another religion to fill their need for a comfortable life. Such people do not want to hear Jesus’ words: "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).

If a person receives Jesus’ message of salvation and learns to ignore the sometimes sinful demands of his body, the Devil still has one more ally on his side—the world we live in. Jesus tells us that the world attacks Christian faith with two weapons—worries and money. And oh, how we like to worry! There is too little rain, there is too much rain, spring came too late, the first frost came too early—how can I get a good crop this year? The schools are filled with drugs and no one can keep the kids under control—what will happen to my child? Who will protect us from war and terrorists and crime? Will I ever have any control over my life? How can anyone ever fall in love with me when I look like this? And money makes us worry as well: how will I pay all these bills? How will I ever get anything saved for retirement? Will I ever get out of debt?

Worries choke our faith by an insidious lie. The lie is this: you can’t trust God to take care of things. It’s your problem, so it’s your responsibility. It’s your problem—only you can come up with the solution that works best for you. You don’t want to be stuck with somebody else’s solution, do you? In this way, the worries of the world choke off our faith in God’s loving care, and all too soon we start forgetting to pray for His wisdom, His leadership, His help. Forgotten is Jesus’ invitation, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

And so Jesus illustrates three situations that inhibit the growth of the Gospel in a person’s life. The Devil, our flesh, and the world are all opposed to letting us find hope in Jesus’ promise of rescue from our sin-corrupted lives, and the torment in hell that they lead to. But this is not just an explanation of why some do not stay in the faith. Jesus says, "He who has ears, let him hear." Jesus challenges each of us to look at our own lives, and see if we are embracing any of these enemies of the faith. Do you view church with cynicism? Are you inclined to listen to a pastor preach while wondering if he really believes all that stuff he’s saying? Do you find yourself looking for a religion that always makes you feel good? If you don’t like what you hear in one church, do you try another, like skipping from channel to channel on the TV until you find something that you are happy with? Or are you a worrier, who just can’t leave things in God’s hands and trust that He does indeed answer prayers? Do you struggle with believing Paul when he says "we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him" (Romans 8:28)?

Jesus warns us that the lies of the Devil, the urges of our human nature, and the pressures of the world can all lead us to abandon the gift of faith that Jesus has given us. And Jesus also tells us how we can be secure in our faith: He says, "But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it." The key is understanding. When a Christian understands Jesus’ offer of salvation, it changes everything inside. The Gospel message acts like a pair of glasses that lets us see things clearly for the first time. Where unbelievers only see chaos in the world, we can see the hand of God keeping things from falling apart. Where others only see human misery and suffering, we can see Jesus at work giving people hope, faith, and endurance. Where non-Christians only see hatred and strife, we see Jesus healing hearts and teaching His children to forgive one another. Where some people see happy coincidences and good luck, we see the loving hand of God visibly at work.

When we understand the Gospel, it becomes a part of us and how we live. The Gospel acts like a governor on our lives, like a governor that controls the speed of a truck. Just as a governor helps a trucker to drive safely, the Gospel within us guides us in making decisions that help us reflect God’s caring love within our lives and into the lives of others. When we show Jesus’ love to others, we become sowers of the Gospel seed; we become fruitful, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Some of us will be more fruitful than others, according to Jesus, but note that everyone who produces a crop is described by Jesus as a man who has become "good soil."

Understanding is the key. Jesus gives us the Good News of the Gospel, and He sends us the Holy Spirit who helps us to understand it, as Paul writes in First Corinthians chapter 2: "We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us." Of course, the more time that we spend in God’s word, the more that our understanding can grow. That is why regular worship and regular Bible study are so important. As your understanding of Jesus’ promises grows, the harder it will be for the Devil, the world, and your flesh to seduce you away from the faith. So take stock of your faith life, and ask Jesus for ever-growing understanding of the wonderful gifts that He has given you.

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